Skirt-supporter.



No, 720,832. PATBNTED FEB.17,- 1903.

W R. B. MELAN$0N.

SKIRT SUPPORTER.

APPLIOATIOH FILED MAR. 29, 1902.

10 MODEL.

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UNITED STAT S.

PATENT OFFICE.

RANCHFORD l3. MELANSON, OF LYNN, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO GEORGE W. BELONGA, OF LYNN, MASSACHUSETTS.

' SKlRT-SUPPORTER.

i SPECIFICATION formingpart of Letters Patent No. 720,832, dated February 17, 1903 v Application filed March 23, 1902. Serial No. 100,473. (No model.) I

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Rnucnronn B. MELAN- SON, a citizen of the United States, residing at Lynn, in the county ofEsseX and State of Massachusetts,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Skirt-Supporters; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which itappertains to make and use the same.

The present invention relates to skirt'-supporters. It is a well-known fact that the back portion of a womans skirt tends to sag, causing discomfort to the wearer and an undesirable appearance. At the same time the waist is apt to work up at the back, producing an objectionable fullness in that portion of the garment. It is customary, therefore, to secure the waist and skirt together at the back by some suitable fastening devices, such as hooks and eyes, safety-pins, 850., It is also customary to conceal the top binding or band of the skirt by means of a belt of leather, ribbon, or other material. Even when the skirt and waist are so fastened together it is often necessary to secure this belt to the skirt or waist in proper position, as it is apt to bedisplaced by the movements of the body of the wearer.

The object of the present invention is to provide a simple device which may be incorporated in or secured to the belt so that it is concealed from observation, which will fasten together securely the waist, skirt, and belt, so that these parts cannot be displaced from their proper positions.

With this object in view the present invention consists in the skirt-s up porter herein after described and claimed.

In the accompanying sheet of drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective view of a belt provided with my improved skirt-supporter. Fig. 2 shows the manner of inserting the device in the skirt and waist. Fig. 3 shows the skirt-supporter and belt in the position occupied when in use; and Fig. 4 is an enlarged perspective of one member of the skirt-supporter, showing the manner in. which it is secured to the belt.

My improved skirt-supporter, as shown, consists, briefly, in two pointed members lolingers these pointed members may be thrust through the binding of the skirt and through the back of the waist, and upon straightening of the belt these members will be turned into a position parallel .with the back of the body of the wearer, pinning together, as it were, the belt, skirt, and waist.

In the illustrated embodiment of my invention the fastening members are formed of a single piece of wire and consist of abase or support 2 and a pointed extension 1 and are secured to the lining or strain-receiving portion of the belt 3, the outside portion 4, of leather, ribbon, or other suitable material, concealing that portion of the base which is on the outside of the liningthat is, the portion shown in dotted outline in Fig. 4. A simple construction of the base which holds the members securely in position is clearly shown in Fig. land comprises a substantially U -shapcd portion upon the outside of the lining and a straight portion, which after the device has been inserted in the lining of the belt is bent back upon one of the arms of the U-shaped portion.

As" shown in Fig. 1 of the drawings, these devices are preferably secured in the back portion of the belt and at such a distance apart that the pointed extensions 1 extend toward each other substantially parallel with the longitudinal medial line of the belt and with their pointed ends slightly overlapping.

The mode of operation of my improved skirt-supporter is as follows: After the skirt and waist have been properly adjusted by the wearer the belt will be bent, as shown in Fig. 2, so that the pointed extensions 1 are substantially normal to the back of the skirt and Waist, (shown diagrammatically as 5 and 6, respectively.) The pointed extensions 1 are then inserted until the points pass through the skirt and waist, when by straightening the back portion of the belt the pointed extensions will be turned toward each other with little effort and without danger of pricking the wearer. The belt is then buckled,

holding the back portion close against the body of the wearer, as shown in Fig. 3, so that'it is impossible for the fastening members to be disengaged from the waist and skirt, the passing of the base through the lining in two places acting to hold the pointed extensions substantially parallel to the longitudinal medial line of the belt and with each other. The pointed extensions may be disengaged from the skirt and waist and the belt removed by the same operations in a reverse order.

Although in the illustrated embodiment of my invention I have shown the pointed extensions and bases of the members as inte-' grally formed of a piece of wire, I do not limit myself to such a construction, except where so expressly stated in the claims; nor do I limit myself to any particular form of base or method of attachment, except where so specifically stated. Moreover, although I have shown the pointed extensions as pointed toward each other and slightly overlapping my invention is not limited to such an arrangement; nor is it limited to a construction in which the pointed extensions lie parallel to the longitudinal medial line of the belt, as my invention in its broader aspects comprises a flexible belt and a plurality of fastening members secured thereto substantially parallel to the adjacent surface of the belt, the members being constructed and arranged to be fastened in the skirt or skirt and waist by bending the belt, inserting the pointed members in the garment or garments, and then straightening the belt.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States- 1. A skirt-supporter comprising a flexible belt and a plurality of relatively movable fastening members each of said members having a base secured to the belt and an extension.

parallel to the belt and having a pointed end, and constructed and arranged to be fastened in a skirt by bending the belt, inserting the members in the skirt and then straightening the belt, substantially as described.

2. A skirt-supporter comprising a belt, and two independent fastening members each of said members having a base secured to the belt, and a pointed extension parallel to the longitudinal medial line of the belt, substantially as described.

3. A skirt-supporter comprising a flexible belt, two pointed members each having a base secured to the belt, the members extending substantially parallel to the edge of the belt and their ends overlapping, substantially as described.

4. A skirt-supporter comprising a flexible belt, and two independent relatively movable fastening members each member having a base secured to the belt and a pointed extension substantially parallel to the edge of the belt, the extension and the base of each member being formed of a single piece of wire, substantially as described.

5. A skirt-supporter comprisinga flexible belt, a plurality of independent relatively movable pointed members secured to the belt and extended in opposite directions parallel to each other and parallel to the adjacent surface of the belt, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

RANOHFORD B. MELANSON.

Witnesses:

ROBT. T. SISSON, JOHN INGRAM. 

